Improvement in process and machinery for making mortar



NPETERS, PHOTaLITHoGRAFHER. WASHXNGTON. D 6.

vmeans which I employ in preparing lime and makin antrd gister aient Letters Patent N 107,535, dated. September 20, 18,70. i

IMPROVEMENT IN PROCESS AND MACHINERY IOR MIAIIIIIG"lllloR'lAR.l

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

Teall whom/it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEMAN B. lrronau, ot' the town of Salina, in the county of Onondaga and State ot New York, have invented a newand improred Process for preparing lime-paste, and comminglingr it,

' when required, with sand into Mortar, and new and improved Machinery by which said process is made useful; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referv ence being had "to the annexed drawing making a to slaking, handling, liquidizing, and sifting quicklimes from their granuiates and dregs, and mixing the tine lime with sand or other materials into mortar come pounds, by one continued and quick operation, in which the lime may be prepared and mixed with sand or other materials, and the mortar made ready for use in from one to three hours, at the rate of eight hundred bushcls per day.

n The mechanical means which I employ are a slaking-vat,a storing and stirring-vat and elevator, a re volving cylindricalsieve,and a mortar-mixing cylinder, or their several equivalents, each made, used, combined, and operated substantially as hereinafter described and shown.

By the means and 'the process employed a tine liquidized limelpaste is prepared, and-made ready for immediate use in mortar compounds, without the usual delay ot`- waiting for limes to slake or cure in pastes or compounds.-

The beauty and utility of this invention is that it can take and handle any and all varieties of slakinglimes, mixed or nnmixed, in any ordinary condition, and, by slaking or mixing, liqnidizing, and sifting, cxtract and make ready, by one' continued and quick operation, :ill t-he lime which will readily become fine and'it for use, and cast out or reject the slow-slaking granulatcs or dregs. n

I Awill now describe the mechanical process and (f mortar compounds, for-which I ask Letters Paten?, as follows:

I slake qnicklime with water in larger quantities at a time than is usual, by which more heat is produced, and the lime is slakcd quicker, better, and iliade finer. l Next, I liquidize with water the limes thus made fine, and hold them in a liquid condition, by keeping them well stirred, that they may be readily and rapidly siftcd and separated from their lime granulatcsfand dregs, by means of a sieve, .with so fine a mesh as to remove all granulates or dregs not fit for immediate use in pastes or morta-1' compounds.

'Lime-pastos with no more wat-er than `what they can holdwhile at rest, and not separate therefrom, are ditl'icult and slow to sift by any known means.

-In liquidizng lime no more water need be used than will be required and readily absorbed in mixing it` with sand or other materials in mortar compounds.

'lo liqnidize lime-paste, so that it willreadily sift, add .one gallon, more or less, of water to'six of ordinary lime-paste.

Such lime-pastes are, or may be, when required, conveyed, by any usual means, into a hollow revolting mortar-mixingcylinder, where sand or hair, orother materials, are commingled.

Thus', by one continued and operating process, any

'variety or ordinaryqnality of yslaking-limes may be slaked, handled, liquidizechand sifted from all deleterious'granulates or dregs, and made ready to be and worked "into mortars ready for use. in from one to three hours.'

The mechanical means which I employ to put. into operation,earry out and render useful the new and improved process. in this specificatiomare each made,

combined, and employed, substantially as follows:

I make a lime-slaking vat, A, 'with any suitable ma` terials, in any mechanical manner, and of convenient size and form. I would prefer it nearly two fee-t deep, and to hold and slake at one time a common two-horse wagon load of lime, ot' seventy bushels or less, with a gate-way leading therefrom, provided with riddlingbars, affixed therein near one and one-half inches apart, more or less, to holdin vat A the larger stones.

Into this vat I put a load, or less, of quicklime at one time, and add,'as quick as practicable, all the water which the lime will absorb. The amount which will be required will depend upon the quality of the lime.

I prefer to corer the rat to keep the heat in, and let it rest thirty minutes, more or less.

rllhe amount of water and the time required toslalre will vary, according to the variety and condition of the lime, which may be ascertained by trial.

. This process creates more heat, and slakes the lime .quicker and better, than can be done in smallerquantitics in the usual way. n

If treated as described, the mass will usually be soft, and, with the additional water tov be added to liquidize the line lime, the whole can be readily stirred up'jby .hand or other power, and the larger stones ordregs' raked out with an ordinary hand-rake or otherwise, and the crude lime-paste run olf througllthe riddlingbars described, or otherwise handled or conveyed by any usual means,l into sifting-cylinder I), by a regular supply, care being 'taken to keep the'l crude paste in vat A well stirred up, so as to prevent it from separating from the water; or, the-paste may be runofi into vat B, which I prefer to do, where the crude paste can be stirred, handled, and conveyed by elevator C, moved by the power employed to sifting-cylinder D. 1 In themeautime vat A maybe slaking another b atch Y 4 Yat Binay be made of' any suitable materials, in any mechanical manner, of capacity to hold the paste flowing from vat A. Its form may be deep and narrow at the bottom, with its sides and ends sloping outwardly and upwardly, or `otherwise formed, as desired.

Resting in thebottom of vat B, I place the foot of chain elevator U, while its head or top rises, so as to discharge lime-pasteinto sifting-cylinder D.

The frame ot' chain-elevator C mayconsist of two parallel sides, two feet wide above and six inches wide below (each more or less wide) the top of vat B, made of one and one-half-ineh plank, more or less, with length according to circumstances, yet, long enough to reach fromthe bottom of vat B to a point high enough todischarge into cylindrical sieve D. 1u the foot of said frame is adjusted, in any mechanical man- `uer, aigrooved or other pulley, made of suitable materials, in any usual manner, of twenty,-more or less,

inches in diameter, to carry the chain to be used.

In the head of said frame another like pulley is adjusted, each pulley to be mounted on suitablel shafts and bearings.

Over and around both pulleys an iron or vother suitable endless chain, of' onc-fourth-inch wire link, more or less, is iliade to run by means of a common drivingpnlley, of twenty inches, more or less, in diameter, attached to the outer end of the shaft of the upper grooved pulley, or otherwise made to run'by the propellingr power inauy mechanical manner.

yThe' upper grooved pulley.and chain are boxed or inclosed in above theitop of the vat B.

I prefer to place the elevator C in position for use at an angle of thirty degrees, more or less. 'Ihe under and up-goingV portion of the endless chain should run in au iron, or other enduring trough Vor narrow place, and should run at the rat-e of eight hundred feet per minute, more or less, or fast enough to oonvvey the crude lime-paste from the bottom of vatB tosifting-cylinder D in sufficient quantities.

rIhe chain may be provided with buckets, or other means of conveying, but I prefer to use it without any appendages, to the endthat, as it moves up the trough, it shall act as a rubber or reducer of the granvnlates of lime, and assist in reducingr them, in combination with the water, to a uid state.

The chain will rest or move in the trough with the force of its own local weight, and, as a resulting action, will pulverize, more or less, the granulates of lime as the chain moves andl carries the limepaste up and along the trough, but will not so readily crush stones or the remains of 'stonecoal.

The chain, running in the 'manner described, is not liable to clog or be stopped.

Another use of this chain-elevator C is that it will, while running, keep the crude lime-paste inv vat B stirred up and in motion, by means of the lower grooved pulley and chain, with vthe result that the paste in vat B shall be conveyed to sifting-cylinder D innearl y a uniform condition. The paste thus conveyed may be discharged from the elevator by an opening and spout, orot-herwise, into cylinder D.

, I make the revolving cylindrical sieve D in the form of a truncated cone, with -a head-piece made of wood, or other suitable materials, with 'a feeding-in hole in the center of said head-piece of ten inches,4

morer less, -in diameter.

The head-piece is attached to a hoop six inches, mor-c or less, \vide,'made of iron or other` suitable materials, in any common manner, and twenty inches, more or less, in diameter, forming the smaller' end of sieve I).

I prefer to use the head-piece, yet it may be dispensed with.

To the hoop described, the `cylindrical sieve is attached at the smaller end thereof. rlhe sieve is to be two feet long, more or less.

to be attached to a hoop of suitable strength and materials, two feet in diameter, more or less, made with or attached to spider arms, sustaining the hoop, and also the shortshaft S,at the center'.

Another set of spider arms, with or without rim, may or may not be employed, to help hold shaft S in position, all made of suitable materials.

The sieve is made of brass` or-other wire-sieviug cloth, or. with perforated sheet'metal, having one hundred holes or meshes, more or less, to the square inch,

A finer sieve may be used, but such will sift slower. I have tried a sieve with sixtyt`onr meshes to the square inch, and found that sometimes particles of lime large enough to be objectionable would pass through.

I keep the sieve extended lengthwise, when relargcr hoop in the ends of the sieve D,

'Ihe sieve D is to be revolved thirty times per minute, more or less, by means of crank M, or by other mechanical means, and the power to be employed.

When mortar `is to be made, the prepared Huidpaste is to be conveyed from sieve D, by means of a rotary pump,or other means, intomortar-mixing cylinder O, where sand or other materials are. mixed with it into mortar compounds.

The sand or other materials may be fed or moved .into said cylinder O by hand, or by any known niechauical contrivanee, suitable for moving sami or gravel, moved by any ordinary motive-power.

I make cylinder O with staves of wood and hoops, to hohl it together, or with other suitable materials, in any mechanical manner, about twenty inchesin diameter and four feet long, (either more or less,) with parallel or diverging sides, with or without a headpiece,with a feeding-in hole ten inches,'more or less, in diameter, in the center thereof in one end of the cylinder. The cylinders O or D to be so positioned of their forms may require, so as to work the mate- -ra-ls ,being wrought from the receiving to the discharging end, sifting, when required, or discharging materials wrought or dregs.

Either or both may be provided with sharp or blunt teeth, or otherwise provided to mix mortar or work lime-paste.

I prefer to mount the receiving end of' either' on friction-rollers, made of suitable materials, and mounted in any usual inaiiner,and to mount the discharging end of each or either of said cylinders on a short shaft, made fast to the center of spider or cross-arms in said cylinders, andextending ont fifteen inches,

box or bearing, the short shaft and bearing to be so adjusted as to' prevent either' of' said cylinders wor" ing endwise.

commingled with sand into mortar.

l'Ihe different machines and fixtures employed in this invent-ion may be combined as described and shown in the drawings, or either any, or all of siftingcylinder AD,cylinder O, elevator O, vat B and A, with or without pumps, o r other-minor parts, may be mounted on wheels, or other means of conveyance, and moved from place to place, to be used or not with a local or stationary slaking-vat, or `other parts, as the circumstances of making lime-paste ormortar may require, or they may be combined, as'may be convenient under the existing circumstances, provided the process is substantially employed and carried out.

The larger and discharging end of the sieve D is l quired, by means ot' braces, from the lesser to the and revolved on a level or descending line as eithermore or less, and resting or revolving in a suitable Thus, lime isV slaked, liquidizcd, handled, sifted, and

All the parts to be moved or operated may be moved or. operated by hand, or other motive-power applied in the usualmanner.

I prefer tov usethe chain-elevator 0, or some contrivance of equal value, yet it may be dispensed with, and the limepaste in'vat A o'r the slaking-vatmay be moved directly to sifting-cylinder D by hand or any ordinary means of power.

It is the liquidizing ofthe limes, made fine by slakingr or other means described, which enables-me to sift them'in a rapid manner through a sieve so fine as. to remove all deleterious granulates and dregs.

Before this, lime-pastes have been made and sifted, but not so made, handled, and siftedias 'to' produce the good and rapid results nowv obtained'.

I .With no more water in limepastethan whatitvi'ilh ,sponge up and hold without :readily separating -there-v from, when left atrest, it cannot' be sit'ted in -aquick and profitable manner by 'any means known to the public, with a sieve so line or small in. mesh, as to take ont all limegranulates and dregs of a size that wonldbe objectionable in good mortars.

On the other h and, liquidized lime-paste, i. e., limepaste Ywith more water in it than it willholdwit-hout separating therefrom, unless kept in motion, 'and yet not necessarily more than will be required `and absorbed in making it into mortar, can be siftedby sieve D. v

I'prefer revolving flaring sieve D because it readily, rapidly, 'and uniformly sifts out the liquid paste, and

dumps or moves out the dregs. Yet, I do Inot wish it to'be understood as the only sieve which can 'be employed to sift liquidized lime from granulatcs. Any flat, half round, or round, shaking, rocking, or revolving, or any other sieve, may be employed, if so worked or operated jas to' readily dump or convey away the lime dregs, if the lime is properly liquidized.

0n the other hand, no sieve linev enough to remove objectionable granulates and dregs can be profitably employed to sift common lime-pa-stes unless the pastes are "forced through by pressure or centrifugal force.

lLime in a liquidized condition should be kept'inmotion until used.

To make a putty or finishing paste, leave the fluid .paste at rest,'and permit thc water to Yseparate, and

then draw it away.

To mi'x liquidized lime with sand, hair, gravel, or

stones, into mortal', groats, or concretes, for masons work, or building blocks or'walls, I believe hollow revolving cylinder 0 to 'be a very superior machine. v

Yet, I believelthat-any machine, which can work, handie, and manipulatesand, hair, gravehor stones, or

either of them, ina semi-fluid condition without crushingthem, can beemployed to mix duid paste with them,

avoids the disagreable. and slow work of sifting 'dry limesor lime-pastes, or the waiting forlime-paste to cure.v Thereis' little strength in lime alone,.and none in sands.

VW-ith goodmaterals, the best 'of mortal' is made by just filling (and no' more) the voids between the grains of sandwith ne lime-paste. Liquidizedlime'- paste, prepared` by the' process herein described,'can

be quicker and more thoroughly commingled with sand by means of cylinder O, or some machine with like' powers, than was ever done before, and make more andbetter mortar from the same measure of limed sand, for no limes arewasted in dangerous granulates commingled, and all sands and voids are 'sure to be wet and filled. What I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States, is-

1.. The mechanical process of preparing quick-lime by slakng,1quidizing, and sifting therefrom granu lates and dregs, substantially in the manner and for the purposes as set forth and described.

2. The arrangement of slaking-vat A with conical or flanged sifting-cylinder D, as. herein shown.

3. The combination of conical siftingcylinder D,-

elevator' C, and vat A, constructed and operated in the manner and for the purpose herein described-and shown.

4. The -combination and arrangement of mixingl cylinder O, vat A, elevatorO, and conical sifting-cylinder D, substantially as and for the purpose herein l j shown and described.

' LEMAN B. PITCHER.

Witnesses: W. SMITH, J. 1B. SABINE. 

